My Name’s Mark, and I’m a Book Addict…

This past week, as I ordered yet another book off the internet, and settled down to re-read one of my old favourites, I realised that I’m a genuine book addict. I hold my hand up: I own a silly number of books – traditional ones, not digital ones – and it’s long past the point where I have the room to physically store them in my house, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering wife.

The shelves of antiquarian books at
Bromley House are a sight to behold.

While I was thinking about the degrees to which my book addiction has taken hold of my life, I knew at once that I wasn’t alone. A quick browse around Twitter or Facebook will find hordes of self-confessed bibliophiles all sharing their passion for the printed word. So I had a think about the traits that define my addiction, and – in true internet style – I came up with a top ten. Let’s see how many of these you recognise in yourself…

1. You belong to more than one library

I’ve joined a local library everywhere I’ve lived (and never technically left any of them). These days, living in Nottingham, 

I also belong to a private subscription library – the wonderful Bromley House – which is a trove of treasures.

This is my reading chair.
There are many like it,
but this one is mine.

2. You own a ‘reading chair’, or have a designated ‘reading space’.

A special place for reading just helps you switch off from the rest of the world and enjoy the written word for what it is. It's like working at a desk rather than on the sofa.

3. You’ve developed a taste for the finer things

If I read in the day, I like to drink fresh filter coffee. If I read in the evening, I like a smoky single malt, or a nice ruby port. Mmm, port.

4. You’ve bought books you already own by mistake

Sometimes because it’s in a different format, or with a different cover – sometimes the same edition. It matters not. I’ve done it more than once!

5. You’ve bought books you already own on purpose!

Because a special edition of an old favourite, or a single binding of a story from an anthology, is just too good a chance to miss.

6. You can’t pick a favourite

Books are my babies. You can’t have a favourite baby, can you?

7. You’ve read your favourite novels more than once.

Remember, you can’t have just one favourite, so that’s a lot of re-reading. Christopher Lee apparently reads The Lord of the Rings every year. Even the bits in italics. He deserves a medal!

An eclectic mix, representing

approximately 0.5% of my collection...

8. You own more books than you’ve read.

A sad, sad confession. My compulsion to amass books outstrips my reading pace by a fair margin. I’ll get round to them all one day. Probably.

I mean, just look at this one!
If you can walk past this shop
without looking, you have
no soul. NO SOUL!

9. You find it impossible to walk past a second-hand bookshop.

Unless it’s closed, of course. But even then, you can window-shop, right? And there’s always treasure to be found, especially if it’s a really disorganised, sprawling old shop (see right)!

10. You don’t even own an e-reader.

The only controversial point on my list, I think. I can’t bring myself to buy a Kindle, because it means I might have to replace my beloved books with… well, with nothing, really. My love of books goes well beyond the words on the page; e-readers are great for some people, and the effect they’ve had on the reading public is fantastic – but they’re just not for me. I’m print and I’m proud!

The Game's Afoot

With Sherlock Holmes being all the rage at present, it seems rather fortuitous timing to release an anthology of Holmesian short stories; and that's exactly what Titan Books is doing. And what's more, I'm in it!

The Further Encounters of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of short stories by a variety of genre writers, including Guy Adams, Lou Anders, and a certain Mark A. Latham. The stories range from the traditional to the steampunk, the supernatural to the comedic - in short, there's something for everyone contained within these pages. Compiled by George Mann, seasoned steampunk writer and author of Sherlock: The Will of the Dead, there's lots to entertain the avid Sherlockian.

My own story is an attempt at blending the canonical text with elements of Conan Doyle's supernatural fiction. In 'Sherlock Holmes and the Popish Relic', Holmes and Watson take up a case that is ostensibly not of this Earth; but Holmes, of course, doesn't believe that for an instant. Set shortly after Holmes's return from the dead, and just a few short years after the Baskerville case, the case takes them to an isolated, tumbledown estate and the ruins of a Catholic abbey to investigate the disappearance of an elderly peer of the realm. It seems that John H. Watson is far more inclined to trust his first instincts, and wonder if the things that go bump in the night aren't entirely of flesh and blood...

The Further Encounters of Sherlock Holmes is available to pre-order online now, and is available from all good book shops come February 28th.

Season's Greetings

Christmas has come around very quickly this year (although I say that every year - you'd think I'd be used to it by now!), and so I just have time to send some festive greetings to my fellow Lost Victorians, before retiring to eat lots of turkey and unwrap presents. 

I've been raiding the bookshelves for some festive reading, and have found two fine examples. First up is the ever-popular A Christmas Carol (in a fine Collector's Library edition, pictured). Next is the faux-Edwardian The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill, a book full of period atmosphere. A pair of beauties for any bibliophile, I'm sure you'll agree!

So, with the reading material sorted, I shall wish you all the compliments of the season. Cheers!

Dear Points of View...

As my followers on Twitter and Facebook will know, the BBC has recently taken the decision to axe the excellent TV drama ‘Ripper Street’ after just two series. The timing of the decision and the apparent reasons for it are a bit hard to swallow. That’s why I’ve hijacked the blog for a day to write an open letter to the BBC…

It’s not often that I feel compelled to email a TV company about the decision to axe particular shows. In most cases, I just figure that a show has run its course, and accept the decision. But in the case of Ripper Street, I just can’t believe that’s the case. Moving it from its Sunday night slot, and citing the ratings being won by ITV’s “I’m a Celebrity” as a main cause for concern smacks of short-sightedness.

Ripper Street is hands down my favourite show on TV at the moment. The writing is getting better and better, the production values are incredible, the cast is superb. Just when I thought it was ‘finding its groove’ I heard the news that it was being cancelled. It seems like it’s the victim of a scheduling mishap. Never has a show been more suited to Sunday night viewing – it’s certainly on a par with Poirot, Sherlock, Foyle’s War, et al, and should probably be treated as such, with a bit more respect. (I am, sadly, reminded of the similar – and excellent – Murder Rooms, which received the same treatment years ago).

Well, when you see it like this, how

could a quality drama hope to compete?

What guile. What mastery.

Let’s be charitable and say that someone at the Beeb has considered these things. But to me it's obvious that people watch less TV on a Monday night than on a Sunday, and nowadays most people record their favourite shows. I can't believe that all of the old 8 million viewers just stopped watching – many probably just record it.

Several options have been mooted by fans, such as to get BBC America to jointly fund and produce the show; move it back to Sundays; give it to BBC2 where perhaps it’ll find a more natural home; or even make a shorter series with longer episodes to avoid slicing the budget too much for a third season. I’ve seen messages of support, incidentally, from US fans who are eagerly awaiting ‘season two’, only to learn that it’ll be the last. Surely, at the very least, the hard-core fans (numbering in their millions still!) deserve to have the existing storylines wrapped up satisfactorily? Or at the very least a response to their concerns?

The axing of this show has basically produced a strength of feeling that I don’t remember seeing in recent history. Just search Twitter for #SaveRipperStreet, or check out the growing petition over at https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/reverse-the-bbc-s-decision-to-cancel-ripper-street (almost 3,000 signatures in 24 hours). The arguments seem to be that the BBC is a publicly funded channel, but is making a conscious decision to remove intelligent period drama in order to compete with dumbed-down pointless reality/celebrity fare. If the BBC is no longer interested in giving viewers genuine options, then what is it for?

As if to compound matters, this letter was originally posted to the Points of View message board, the address of which since found its way onto Twitter. All other Ripper Street boards had been closed, with a message pointing the one official ‘active’ board. Sadly, the moderators have now chosen to close that one too, this time with no explanation. What is going on BBC? Why don’t you want to listen to the people who pay for your programming?

The #SaveRipperStreet campaign is going well, and I’d love to think we could change the BBC’s mind, but with the lack of response so far, it seems that perhaps ratings rather than quality are the Beeb’s prime concern these days. A shame. 

EDIT: If you're on Twitter, then I also urge you to follow @saveripperst for the latest on the campaign.